Only 19 players turned out to two weeks ago. Yet, the rest of the Nisqually League should not expect an easy game against the Cowboys.

"We're going to have a very adaptable team," Chimacum coach Shawn Meacham said. "We're going to have players at multiple positions and create depth. It's going to be 'Ironman' football."

They will have some big-time players in their lineup. The biggest one being Daryl Settlemire, the 6-foot-1, 240 pound junior lineman who is the reigning Nisqually League defensive MVP.

"He plans on having a good year," Meacham said. "He's probably going to play at the next level. He can have his pick from any school that's looking at him."

Joining him will be quarterback Alex Morris, lineman Seth Ham, and running back/linebackers Trevor Hare, Derek Ajax, and Mel Thornton. Meacham says Ham "has been living in the weight room over the summer", and points out Thornton, though he missed the first half of last season, came back to score seven touchdowns in four games and rushed for 214 yards against Port Townsend.

Meacham has been trying to get others to come out for football, but with little success.

"Football is not a priority with the athletes at Chimacum," Meacham said. "There's a lot of good athletes not turning out. They're afraid of getting injured, and ruining their chances with another sport. It's an amazing downturn."

It's something Meacham hoped to stop when he stepped up from the middle school to become head coach for the Cowboys.

"We're doing what we can," he said. "It's tough on the kids who are out there. Football is in their blood."

But Meacham is confident that Chimacum won't be an easy win for anybody they play.

"When you line up against Chimacum, you're going to have a tough game ahead," Meacham says. "We will play hard and hit hard for four quarters."